Kings & Queens

Featured monarchs

Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria enjoyed the longest-reign in British history – 63 years, 7 months, and 2 days.

Charles I
King Charles started the English Civil War, lost to Oliver Cromwell, and was executed on a scaffold in 1649.

British monarchy timeline

Here is a history of the British Royal Family…

The Anglo-Saxons

871 King Alfred · 899 Edward the Elder · 924 King Athelstan · 939 King Edmund · 946 King Edmund is murdered, and Edred becomes King · 959 King Edgar · 975 Edward the Martyr · 978 Edward is murdered, Æthelred the Unready becomes King · 1016 Edmund Ironside · 1016 Edmund is killed by King Cnut, and Cnut becomes King · 1037 King Harold · 1040 King Harthacnut · 1042 Edward the Confessor

The Normans

1066 Harold II · 1066 William the Conqueror kills Harold, and becomes King · 1087 William II (William Rufus) · 1100 Henry I · 1135 King Stephen

The Angevins

1154 Henry II · 1189 Richard I · 1199 King John

The Plantagenets

1216 Henry III · 1272 Edward I · 1307 Edward II · 1327 Edward II abdicates, and Edward III becomes King · 1377 Richard II

The Lancasters

1399 Richard II abdicates, and Henry IV becomes King · 1413 Henry V · 1422 Henry VI

The Yorks

1461 Henry VI is deposed, and Edward IV becomes King · 1470 Henry VI regains the throne from Edward IV · 1471 Edward IV regains the throne, and Henry VI dies · 1483 Richard III usurps the throne and locks Edward V in the Tower of London

The Tudors

1485 Richard III killed at the Battle of Bosworth, and Henry VII becomes King · 1509 Henry VIII · 1547 Edward VI · 1553 Lady Jane Grey was Queen for two weeks, before being ousted by Queen Mary · 1558 Elizabeth I

The Stuarts

1603 James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England · 1625 Charles I

The Interregnum

1649 Execution of Charles I · 1653 Oliver Crowell becomes Lord Protector · 1658 Cromwell dies, and is succeeded by his son Richard

The Stuarts

1660 Restoration of the monarchy under Charles II · 1685 James II · 1689 William of Orange invades, and James II flees. William is crowned William III · 1702 Queen Anne

The Hanovers

1714 George I · 1727 George II · 1760 George III · 1820 George IV · 1830 William IV · 1837 Queen Victoria

The Saxe-Coburg Gotha

1901 Edward VII

The Windsors

1910 George V · 1936 Death of George V, and abdication of Edward VIII. George VI becomes King · 1952 Elizabeth II

Featured royal events

Crown Jewels
The Crown Jewels are kept at the Tower of London, and used at royal coronations.

The Coronation (1953)
Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation took place in 1953, following the death of her father, King George VI.

British monarchy

Upcoming royal events

>>  Royal-related events in London

Take the Director’s Tour of Kensington Palace

• 10th February 2009
• Take a guided tour of Kensington Palace with director Nigel Arch. The evening will start off with champagne and canapés in the Red Saloon reception, before heading off for a walk around the Royal State Apartments, where Queen Victoria was born and raised.

The State Opening of Parliament

• 3rd December 2008
• The State Opening of Parliament is a great chance to catch the Queen in all her pomp. She rides from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament in her gold state coach, attended by members of the Household Cavalry. If you want to see a traditional ceremony packed with history, then get down to Whitehall on the 3rd December.